{"id":11382,"date":"2025-01-30T08:45:43","date_gmt":"2025-01-30T07:45:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/?p=11382"},"modified":"2025-12-05T10:19:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T09:19:15","slug":"esa-launches-the-second-space-resources-challenge-src","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/esa-launches-the-second-space-resources-challenge-src\/","title":{"rendered":"ESA Launches the Second Space Resources Challenge (SRC)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-11383\" src=\"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Banner-Space-Resources-Challenge-BSGN-002.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1386\" height=\"794\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The <strong>European Space Agency (ESA)<\/strong>, in collaboration with the <strong>Luxembourg Space Agency (LSA)<\/strong> and the <strong>European Space Resources Innovation Centre (ESRIC)<\/strong>, is hosting the <strong>Second Space Resources Challenge (SRC)<\/strong>. This initiative aims to advance technologies for the excavation and beneficiation of lunar regolith, which are crucial for future lunar missions and sustainable human presence on the Moon.<\/p>\n<h2>The Challenge<\/h2>\n<p>The challenge focuses on developing technologies for the <strong>excavation<\/strong> (collecting and handling lunar soil) and <strong>beneficiation<\/strong> (improving the quality of collected material) of lunar regolith. Participants will design and operate robotic systems to collect and sort lunar regolith simulant. The event will be held at <strong>LUNA<\/strong>, a 700m\u00b2 facility replicating the Moon\u2019s environment, including lighting and gravity conditions.<\/p>\n<p>The best performing team overall will receive a \u20ac500,000 development contract for a feasibility study with ESA. The top team in the Beneficiation category will be awarded up to \u20ac250,000 by LSA and ESRIC. In total, participants can win up to \u20ac750,000.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11384\" src=\"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/luna-analog-facility_54020856543_o-1-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"665\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><em>LUNA Facility. Credits: ESA\/DLR<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Objective and Mission Scenario<\/h2>\n<p>Participants in the SRC will operate within <strong>a simulated mission scenario set in the 2040s<\/strong>, where operations to sustain a long-term human presence on the Moon using lunar resources have begun. End-to-end In-Situ Resource Utilisation (ISRU) processes have been demonstrated via robotic and crewed missions, with small-scale production of ISRU products such as oxygen and metals. Integrated systems to extract, process, and store lunar resources are in place, supporting activities like additive manufacturing for construction and refueling.<\/p>\n<p>The objective is <strong>to develop technologies that can efficiently excavate and beneficiate lunar regolith<\/strong>, preparing it for further processing. This is crucial for producing resources like oxygen and metals, which are essential for sustaining human presence on the Moon.<\/p>\n<p>If you have the expertise to design and operate robotic systems for lunar regolith processing, click on the button below to <strong>submit your proposal by 20 February 2025<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/src.esa.int\/space_resources_challenge_2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"btn btn btn-outline-secondary ms-0\">Submit your proposal<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The European Space Agency (ESA), in collaboration with the Luxembourg Space Agency (LSA) and the European Space Resources Innovation Centre (ESRIC), is hosting the Second Space Resources Challenge (SRC). This [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":11383,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[249],"tags":[604,605,603,602],"directorate":[433],"sts-api_categories":[],"esa-fields":[],"class_list":["post-11382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-lunar-regolith-simulant","tag-lunar-resources","tag-lunar-soil","tag-luxembourg-space-agency","directorate-exploration"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>ESA Launches the Second Space Resources Challenge (SRC) - ESA Commercialisation Gateway<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/esa-launches-the-second-space-resources-challenge-src\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ESA Launches the Second Space Resources Challenge (SRC) - ESA Commercialisation Gateway\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The European Space Agency (ESA), in collaboration with the Luxembourg Space Agency (LSA) and the European Space Resources Innovation Centre (ESRIC), is hosting the Second Space Resources Challenge (SRC). 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